Flatpage: Adventures

Six-time Olympic swimming gold medalist Amy Van Dyken-Rouen completely severed her spinal cord in an ATV accident near her Arizona home and is in intensive care in a Scottsdale hospital.

Van Dyken-Rouen, 41, is at the Scottsdale Healthcare Osborn Medical Center, where she is in "good spirits," her husband, Tom Rouen, said Monday.

"Amy awoke within hours of surgery acting like her typical spunky, boisterous, ebullient self and has spent the last 24 hours entertaining her family and her medical staff in the ICU," read a statement her family released to swimmingworldmagazine.com.

Van Dyken-Rouen, who was injured Friday near the couple's Arizona home, is in the third day of a critical period and is showing signs of improving, Rouen said.

After surgery, "she needed about three days before she is out of the woods," Rouen said. "She is strong and has a great attitude."

Van Dyken-Rouen, who graduated from Cherry Creek High School in 1991, won four gold medals — 50-meter freestyle, 100-meter butterfly, 4x100-meter freestyle relay and 4x100-meter medley relay — at the 1996 Summer Olympics in Atlanta. She took home two more golds at the 2000 Summer Games in Sydney, repeating in the relay events.

The couple had been out to dinner near their home, and Van Dyken-Rouen was riding an ATV back when she hit a curb and the vehicle tumbled down an embankment.

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Rouen, a former Broncos punter, raced to her aid on his motorcycle.

"She wasn't breathing," Rouen said. "I raised up the back of her neck with my hand, she started gasping for air."

A paramedic came across the accident and helped Rouen. When emergency responders arrived, Van Dyken-Rouen was conscious but was having trouble breathing, according to a police report. She was transported by helicopter to a hospital.

Six-time Olympic swim champion Amy Van Dyken Rouen has suffered a severed spine after an all-terrain vehicle accident last week in Arizona, USA Swimming and her family said June 9, 2014. (Timothy Clary, AFP, Getty)

"Amy was unable to move her toes or her feet when asked by EMS," a Show Low Police Department report said. "When asked about feeling in her legs, Amy stated she could not feel anything touching her legs."

Van Dyken-Rouen will likely remain in ICU for at least several days.

"I'm really worried about her," said 2000 Sydney Olympics teammate B.J. Bedford Miller, who now lives in Fort Collins. "You don't want this to happen to anybody, but I don't know of anybody who's more of a fighter, who will figure out a way to look at this positively and find a way to challenge this new world. I don't know anyone other than Amy who can do that."

On Monday, the Van Dyken and Rouen families released a statement. "Amy's spinal cord was completely severed at the T11 vertebra, but, miraculously, a broken vertebra stopped within millimeters of rupturing her aorta," the statement said.

Dr. Vikas Patel, an associate professor at the University of Colorado Hospital and the chief orthopedic spine surgeon, has not seen Van-Dyken-Rouen's injury nor consulted with her doctors, but said such an injury to the T11 vertebra is devastating.

"The T11 is one of the vertebrae in the middle of the back, and it's a relatively stiff and strong vertebra," Patel said. "It means there had to have been a tremendous amount of force."

Patel said much recovery from such an injury is unlikely. One of the effects could be that her legs will be paralyzed, but Patel said time will tell how much she recovers. It could take weeks or months to fully understand what may or may not recover.

Another Olympic gold medal swimmer from Colorado, Missy Franklin, was a year old when Van Dyken-Rouen won gold in Atlanta. Franklin has met Van Dyken-Rouen several times over the past couple of years and the two bonded, in part, because of their Colorado roots.

"I think everyone is just shocked by it," Franklin said Monday in a phone interview. "My mom told me, and I just immediately started praying for her and her family. Hearing that she's in ICU is obviously very scary. ... I know the entire swimming community is thinking about her and praying for her."

When the two Colorado Olympians got together, Van Dyken-Rouen offered the younger Franklin her support.

"She always reminds me that she's always there for me if I ever have any questions or need to talk to her, which is one of the best feelings you can get," Franklin said. "When you have someone of her stature and her success offering help, it's really, really sweet."

Dave Denniston, a longtime Van Dyken family friend, can relate to what Van Dyken-Rouen is going through. Denniston, who went to Arapahoe High School, was an NCAA champion swimmer at Auburn, and almost made the Olympic team in 2004 before he broke his back in 2005 while sledding in Wyoming. He made the Paralympics team in 2008 and now coaches Paralympic swimmers.

"They've told me I've been an inspiration to them. That's great, but first and foremost they've always been great friends," Denniston said. "They've supported me, and now I'm in a position where I can support them, get them information."

He said Van Dyken-Rouen's years of training will help her with this challenge.

The couple is receiving a lot of support from family, friends and fans, Rouen said.

"It's rough," he said. "But Amy is aware of the challenges ahead of her. She is ready to meet them head- on."

"We've had an incredible outpouring of support. We really appreciate all the support and prayers."

Staff writers John Meyer and Alexandria Valdez contributed to this report.

Amy Van Dyken-Rouen

Born: Feb. 15, 1973

Education: University of Arizona, Colorado State University

Career highlights:

• Became the first U.S. woman to win four gold medals in one Olympiad, at the 1996 Atlanta Summer Games. She captured the 50-meter freestyle and 100 butterfly and also competed on winning relay teams in the 400 freestyle and 400 medley.

• She added two more gold medals in the 400 free and 400 medley relays at the 2000 Sydney Olympics.

• Also remembered for her behavior at the 2000 Games, where she spit in the lane of rival Inge de Bruijn. After losing to de Bruijn, Van Dyken responded by saying she, too, could have won a gold medal "if I were a man."